Fort Myers Farmer’s Market Finds, Hot Honey

Fort Myers Farmer's Market finds, hot honey. Farmer's markets are full of local treasures and honey is one of them. I learned a lot about this natural sweetener at the Lake's Regional Park Farmer's Market. It's off of Gladiolus between US41 and Summerlin Road. The seasonal market takes place every Wednesday and typically wraps up in the next couple of weeks. However, I was told yesterday the market will be extended this year since it opened late due to Hurricane Ian.

The majority of honey found at the Heritage Pointe booth is local. Don Murray is the beekeeper tending to dozens of hives all over Southwest Florida. Sadly, the hurricane destroyed his hives on Sanibel Island and severely damaged those on Pine Island. It might take years before we will be seeing any more honey made from bees that pollenate sea grapes since they've been washed away.

If you think all honey tastes alike, you need to stop by this tent and try it for yourself. Tracy is a wealth of knowledge and will let you sample. The orange blossom is a little sweeter, good for dressings. The black mangrove reminded me of bourbon. It was not as thick and would be great as a glaze on salmon or meats. Melaleuca and Brazilian pepper are good for allergies. So is the Saw Palmetto which is also said to benefit sleep.

I think the honey I liked best was the hot honey. It's fairly new for Heritage Pointe. Made with natural spices it does not taste manufactured like some versions I've tried. It is a great balance of heat and sweet for meats, cheese boards and general drizzling pleasure.

Last week I featured the breads and sweet treats found at European Family Bakery. More on that here, or keep scrolling for the info. Yesterday Iris let me try the chocolate croissants...heavenly. Prior visits included a stop at the Cape Coral Pierogi Company tent. Check that out here. Yesterday Shoreh let me sample the special edition buffalo chicken pierogis. They are really unique and good.

If you have a sweet tooth...check this one out.

Fort Myers Farmer's Market Finds, Mini Donuts. If you have a sweet tooth, you need to know about the Dippidy Donuts Food Truck that appears at local farmer's markets. Last month I was talking to a friend who was going on about how happy she was that the Lake's Regional Park Farmer's Market was finally open in Fort Myers. The park off of Gladiolus was closed for a few months following Hurricane Ian, forcing market vendors to temporarily relocate. I too love this market and try to stop by on Wednesdays when it is open.

My friend, talking about some of the new vendors this season, gasped and put her hand on her chest. "There's even a donut food truck. They make the donuts right there, hot and fresh. That is just sooooo wrong," she said. This is one of those cases where wrong really means right. Unless you are talking about your diet. Until then, I had not noticed to the truck. Perhaps it was hard to see through the crowd that often gathers in front of it. I like to think it was because my focus was on healthful fresh produce.

Regardless, last week, I set out to find this evil hot donut truck. I quietly got an order of cinnamon sugar mini's and suddenly understood what she meant. Each little bite was perfectly cooked and coated in flavor. So when this week's market day rolled around, I went back for more. In addition, I took some time to get to know the owners, Tim and Michelle Jenkins.

They are from the Midwest where they owned a corporate event center and an Ax throwing business. The Jenkins have two daughters, are an active family, and wanted to live in an area where they could be outdoors all year long. They also love the water. Southwest Florida checked all the boxes so they sold their businesses and relocated.

Knowing that I write about food, wine and travel, they gave me a behind the scenes look at their compact operation. Here is a video of the small by mighty donut fryer.

Enjoy these photos of my latest Fort Myers Farmer's Market Finds, mini donuts from Dippidy. By they way, you can reserve the food truck  for events.

Fort Myers Farmer's Market finds, German breads and pastries. This booth at the Lake's Regional Park Farmer's Market in Fort Myers has been making me drool for weeks. Finally this week, I took some time to meet the owner, Iris, and come clean about my obsession.

This market occurs every Wednesday during season. Sadly, there are only a couple of weeks left. When Iris arrives at her designated spot in the morning, people are already there, waiting for her. Some are so eager to be the first to get a warm loaf of bread that they even help her unpack. That's quite a following.

Iris and her husband are from southern Germany. He does most of the baking. They have seven, yes seven kids to take care of as well. They used to have a bakery in Lehigh Acres but now can only be found at farmer's markets including Bonita and Sanibel. Every week, he makes a few signature breads along with bins of pretzels. However, when it comes to the sweet treats there always seems to be something new. Besides German delights, you'll also find some Italian and French pastries here.

Last week I bought a rosemary baguette to go with some mushroom soup in the pierogi tent next door. More about that Fabulous Find here. It has the perfect amount of seasoning, was crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. It was amazing and so good with the thick rich soup.

When looking for Iris, look for a sign that reads European Family Bakery. Since most of these markets are seasonal and our desire for these treats is all year long, this is her email so you can find out where she will be: oktoberfestpretzel@gmail.com

Finally, here are some photos from my Fort Myers Farmer's Market finds, German breads and pastries.